After a shaky rookie season with the Carolina Panthers, former Syracuse fullback Tony Fiammetta is being called upon to fill some pretty big shoes.

Brad Hoover, the tough, 10-year veteran blocker and fan-favorite who helped tailbacks DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart achieve the NFL rushing duo record last season, was let go in the off-season in a purge of veteran players.

Now, Fiammetta, who was a fourth-round draft pick in 2009, is being asked to step up. Fiammetta admits he struggled last season with pass protection and figuring out the right blocking style to use, but says playing behind Hoover was the best thing that could have happened to him.

"I think it's a challenge for anybody coming into a new offense to feel completely comfortable from the start," Fiammetta told the Associated Press. "After a year and a half of being in the NFL, I feel great and I feel like I'm ready to do big things out there."

"He sat behind maybe one of the better guys as far as knowing what to do in Brad Hoover. He's gotten to watch him operate for a year and we actually saw him grow last year throughout practices," Fox said of Fiammetta.

"He (Fiammetta) has all the tools we look for in a fullback - he can block, he has great body control and he can catch the ball. And playing behind Brad, who was great for us, helped a lot," general manager Marty Hurney added in an interview with the Charlotte Observer.